Publications

2019

• Étude de la dynamique de la reconnexion magnétique induite par laser de puissance
  
  • Bolanos Simon
  , 2019. Le travail exposé dans le manuscrit s’inscrit dans l’étude de la reconnexion magnétique (MR) induite par laser de haute puissance. L’étude avait pour objectif de comprendre sa dynamique dans diverses conditions (par exemple, en présence d’un champ guide qui est la composante magnétique hors du plan de reconnexion) ou lors du changement du paramètre-bêta (rapport de la pression plasma sur la pression magnétique) du plasma ou en changeant la géométrie de la MR. Pour compléter l'analyse des données expérimentales que j'ai rassemblées à l'aide d'installations laser (LULI, LMJ), nous avons effectué des simulations avec un code hybride PIC. Les résultats sont comparés aux résultats expérimentaux pour mettre en évidence les mécanismes mis en place.Dans un premier temps, je présenterai quelques expériences réalisées avec l’installation LULI2000 dans le but d’enquêter sur la dynamique de la reconnexion magnétique dans une configuration non coplanaire entre deux tores magnétiques induits par deux spots laser proches irradiant des cibles solides. Bien qu’ils soient distincts des plasmas astrophysiques où le paramètre bêta est faible (~ 10^-3 dans la couronne solaire et ~ 1 dans le vent solaire), ces expériences de reconnexion conduites au moyen de laser (où le paramètre-bêta ~ 10) sont intéressantes pour étudier des questions fondamentales en MR telles que l'influence d'un champ guide sur la dynamique de la MR. Nous montrerons notamment qu'avant le déclenchement d’un événement de MR, la présence (1) d'un champ de guide faible, ou (2) d'une composante de champ magnétique hors du plan de forme quadrupolaire peuvent tous les deux fortement modifier la croissance de la MR.Ensuite, nous discuterons des résultats expérimentaux obtenus avec l’installation LMJ/PETAL (France). Cette installation offre la possibilité d'étudier la MR dans un plasma ayant un paramètre-bêta faible en raison de la forte énergie laser qui peut être transmise à la cible, ce qui génère des champs magnétiques plus intenses. Elle offre également la possibilité d’utiliser plusieurs spots d’irradiation laser, ce qui permet d’évaluer l’effet de la reconnexion magnétique dans le contexte de la fusion par confinement inertiel (FCI) où de nombreux lasers irradient la paroi du holhraum. La MR peut en effet jouer un rôle dans l’interaction entre les plasmas produits le long de la paroi du holhraum. Nous montrerons notamment que la présence de plusieurs spots d’irradiation laser mitoyens modifie la MR, par rapport à la présence de seulement deux spots voisins. Le transfert de l'énergie magnétique induite vers le plasma s’en trouve modifié. (10.70675/b2f31cb6z79c4z46d1za588z162a3cd83f37)
  DOI : 10.70675/b2f31cb6z79c4z46d1za588z162a3cd83f37
• Proton acceleration by collisionless shocks using a supersonic H 2 gas-jet target and high-power infrared laser pulses
  
  • Puyuelo-Valdes P.
  • Henares J.
  • Hannachi F.
  • Ceccotti T.
  • Domange J.
  • Ehret M.
  • d'Humieres E.
  • Lancia L.
  • Marquès Jean-Raphaël
  • Ribeyre X.
  • Santos J.J
  • Tikhonchuk V.
  • Tarisien M.
  Physics of Plasmas, American Institute of Physics, 2019, 26 (12), pp.123109. For most laser-driven ion acceleration applications, a well-characterized intense ion beam with a low divergence and a controllable energy spectrum produced at a high repetition rate is needed. Gas-jet targets have given promising results in simulations, and they have several technical advantages for high-repetition-rate lasers. In this work, we report on proton acceleration to energies up to 6 MeV using a supersonic H2 gas-jet target at the LULI PICO2000 laser facility. The experimental results are compared with the plasma hydrodynamics and the particle-in-cell simulations to identify the acceleration mechanisms at play. (10.1063/1.5116337)
  DOI : 10.1063/1.5116337
• Laboratory investigation of particle acceleration and magnetic field compression in collisionless colliding fast plasma flows
  
  • Higginson D. P
  • Korneev Ph.
  • Ruyer C.
  • Riquier R.
  • Moreno Q.
  • Béard Jérome
  • Chen S.
  • Grassi A.
  • Grech M.
  • Gremillet L.
  • Pépin H.
  • Perez F.
  • Pikuz S.
  • Pollock B.
  • Riconda C.
  • Shepherd R.
  • Starodubtsev M.
  • Tikhonchuk V.
  • Vinci T.
  • D’humières E.
  • Fuchs J.
  Communications Physics, Nature Research, 2019, 2 (1). (10.1038/s42005-019-0160-6)
  DOI : 10.1038/s42005-019-0160-6
• Evidence for Crystalline Structure in Dynamically-Compressed Polyethylene up to 200 GPa
  
  • Hartley N.
  • Brown S.
  • Cowan T.
  • Cunningham E.
  • Döppner T.
  • Falcone R.
  • Fletcher L.
  • Frydrych S.
  • Galtier E.
  • Gamboa E.
  • Laso Garcia A.
  • Gericke D.
  • Glenzer S.
  • Granados E.
  • Heimann P.
  • Lee H.
  • Macdonald M.
  • Mackinnon A.
  • Mcbride E.
  • Nam I.
  • Neumayer P.
  • Pak A.
  • Pelka A.
  • Prencipe I.
  • Ravasio A.
  • Rödel M.
  • Rohatsch K.
  • Saunders A.
  • Schölmerich M.
  • Schörner M.
  • Schuster A.
  • Sun P.
  • van Driel T.
  • Vorberger J.
  • Kraus D.
  Scientific Reports, Nature Publishing Group, 2019, 9 (1). (10.1038/s41598-019-40782-5)
  DOI : 10.1038/s41598-019-40782-5
• Laboratory study of stationary accretion shock relevant to astrophysical systems
  
  • Mabey P.
  • Albertazzi Bruno
  • Falize E.
  • Michel Th.
  • Rigon G.
  • van Box Som L.
  • Pelka A.
  • Brack F.-E.
  • Kroll F.
  • Filippov E.
  • Gregori G.
  • Kuramitsu Y.
  • Lamb D.
  • Li C.
  • Ozaki N.
  • Pikuz S.
  • Sakawa Y.
  • Tzeferacos P.
  • Koenig M.
  Scientific Reports, Nature Publishing Group, 2019, 9 (1). (10.1038/s41598-019-44596-3)
  DOI : 10.1038/s41598-019-44596-3
• Étude des chocs radiatifs dans le cadre de l'astrophysique de laboratoire
  
  • Michel Thibault
  , 2019. Le développement des lasers depuis plusieurs décennies permet aujourd’hui de concentrer une quantité macroscopique d’énergie (environ 1 kJ) dans un petit espace (quelques mm3) et sur une courte durée (environ 1 ns). Cela permet d’atteindre le régime des Hautes Densités d’Énergie (HDE), que l’on retrouve au cœur des planètes ou dans les étoiles. Cette thèse s’inscrit dans le cadre de l’Astrophysique de Laboratoire, qui consiste à réaliser en laboratoire des expériences avec des lasers de puissance. Le couplage à des lois d’échelle permet alors de modéliser des phénomènes astrophysiques précis. Les paramètres expérimentaux qui sont mesurés peuvent alors s’étendre, dans une certaine mesure, jusqu’au système astrophysique reproduit.Lors de cette thèse, nous nous sommes concentrés sur un type de phénomène précis : les chocs radiatifs. Ceux-ci sont présents par exemple lors des explosions de supernovae, à proximité des nuages moléculaires, ou dans les disques d’accrétion.Nous étudions d’abord l’aspect expérimental du choc radiatif généré par des lasers de puissance, notamment sur le laser GEKKO à Osaka (Japon). En particulier, nous déterminons les critères que l’on doit considérer pour qualifier un choc de « radiatif », puis nous étudions les contraintes expérimentales qui permettent de le générer, ce qui nécessite un important travail de simulation numérique.Ensuite, nous exposons différents aspects de l’interaction entre un choc radiatif et un obstacle solide, reproduisant l’ablation d’un nuage moléculaire par des étoiles avoisinantes. Nous en présentons les aspects théoriques, numériques et expérimentaux.Un autre effet qui a été constaté expérimentalement, puis expliqué analytiquement et numériquement, est la décélération du choc lorsque celui-ci possède d’importants effets radiatifs. Cela mène à des développements d’instabilités, comme on peut le voir autour de la supernova SN1987A. Le modèle développé donne une explication possible sur l’évolution de points chauds dans les anneaux qui l'entourent.Enfin, dans le but d’étudier expérimentalement ces effets pour un choc encore plus rayonnant, nous présentons dans cette thèse le dimensionnement d’une expérience qui aura lieu sur le Laser MegaJoule (LMJ) dans le courant de l’année 2020.De nombreuses perspectives sont mentionnées à la fin du manuscrit, donnant des pistes d’améliorations expérimentales mais également théoriques concernant la classification des chocs radiatifs. (10.70675/0a5c599bze381z4072zad70zf2ec87e6581e)
  DOI : 10.70675/0a5c599bze381z4072zad70zf2ec87e6581e
• Compression de mélanges liquides et silice par chocs générés par laser jusqu’à des conditions thermodynamiques extrêmes d’intérêt pour les modèles des intérieurs planétaires
  
  • Guarguaglini Marco
  , 2019. Characterising the behaviour of planetary interiors’ components at extreme conditions (megabar pressures, temperatures of a few thousand Kelvin) is essential to build reliable models describing the evolution and structure of planets. In this thesis, we investigated various components on a wide set of conditions using laser-driven shock compression techniques at the LULI2000 (France) and GEKKO XII (Japan) facilities.Single decaying shocks were employed to study high-pressure / high-temperature states. To reach moderate-temperature conditions, closer to planetary interior profiles, we employed static and dynamic pre-compression techniques coupling Diamond Anvil Cells to shock compression and generating double shocks, respectively.We studied the equation of state of water-ethanol-ammonia mixtures and of pure liquid water and ammonia, of interest for icy giant structure models. Pure ammonia measurements have been particularly challenging due to cell design complexity in reason of its reactivity; we provide the first data obtained with laser shocks, in a pressure domain up to now unexplored. Mixtures data are in agreement with recent ab initio calculations based on the linear mixing approximation.We measured the optical reflectivity of liquid mixtures and silica, a key component of rocky planets’ interiors. From reflectivity data we estimated the electrical conductivity of such components — a crucial parameter for modelling the generation of planetary magnetic fields in the interiors via a dynamo mechanism.Water, ammonia, and water-ethanol-ammonia mixtures exhibit different reflectivity (hence conductivity) behaviours as a function of pressure and temperature. This suggests that pure water should not be used in dynamo models as representative of the icy mixtures.Moreover, we provide the first experimental confirmation of recent ab initio studies showing that the conductivity of silica along isothermal lines is not monotonic at moderate temperatures. Our data provide experimental support for the calculations predicting a dynamo action to occur in super-Earths’ and early Earth’s magma oceans. (10.70675/10515cf4z8c98z4292z991dzb8ec3800e2a4)
  DOI : 10.70675/10515cf4z8c98z4292z991dzb8ec3800e2a4
• X-ray spectroscopy evidence for plasma shell formation in experiments modeling accretion columns in young stars
  
  • Filippov E. D
  • Skobelev I. Yu.
  • Revet G.
  • Chen S.
  • Khiar B.
  • Ciardi A.
  • Khaghani D.
  • Higginson D. P
  • Pikuz S.
  • Fuchs J.
  Matter and Radiation at Extremes, AIP Publishing, 2019, 4 (6), pp.064402. Recent achievements of laboratory astrophysics experiments with high power lasers have allowed progress in our understanding of the early stages of star formation. In particular, we have recently demonstrated the possibility of simulating in the laboratory the process of accretion of matter on young stars (Revet G. et al. Science Advances 3, e1700982 (2017)). The present paper focuses on X-ray spectroscopy methods allowing us to investigate the complex plasma hydrodynamic involved in such experiments. We demonstrate that we can henceforth infer the formation of a plasma shell, surrounding the accretion column at the location of impact with the stellar surface, and thus resolve the present discrepancies between mass accretion rates derived from x-ray and optical radiation astronomical observations originating from the same object. In our experiments, the accretion column is modelled by having a collimated narrow (1 mm diameter) plasma stream first propagate along the lines of large-scale external magnetic field and then impact onto an obstacle mimicking the high-density region of the stellar chromosphere. A combined approach using steady-state and quasi-stationary models was successfully applied to measure the parameters of the plasma all along its propagation, at the impact and in the subsequent structure surrounding the impact region. The formation of a hot plasma shell surrounding the denser and colder core formed by the incoming stream of matter is observed near the obstacle using x-ray spatially resolved spectroscopy. (10.1063/1.5124350)
  DOI : 10.1063/1.5124350
• Laser experiment for the study of accretion dynamics of Young Stellar Objects: design and scaling
  
  • Revet G.
  • Khiar B.
  • Béard Jérome
  • Bonito R.
  • Orlando S.
  • Starodubtsev M.V.
  • Ciardi A.
  • Fuchs J.
  High Energy Density Physics, Elsevier, 2019, 33, pp.100711. (10.1016/j.hedp.2019.100711)
  DOI : 10.1016/j.hedp.2019.100711
• Extreme-UV absorption processes in a laser-produced mid-Z plasma: Measurements and theoretical interpretation
  
  • Poirier M.
  • Bastiani-Ceccotti S.
  • Blenski T.
  • Comet M.
  • Esnault C.
  • Gilleron F.
  • Gilles D.
  • Pain J.-C.
  • Reverdin C.
  • Thais F.
  High Energy Density Physics, Elsevier, 2019, 33, pp.100706. A good knowledge of absorption properties of plasmas at temperature of few tens of eV is essential in several domains such as astrophysics and inertial fusion science. For instance the description of stellar envelopes or the analysis of beta-Cephei pulsation requires an accurate determination of the Rosseland absorption coefficient, which strongly depends on the radiative properties of plasmas in the extreme-UV (XUV) range. Contrary to measurements in X-ray range, the literature on the absorption properties of plasmas of mid-Z elements in XUV domain is less abundant. Furthermore the theoretical interpretation of such spectra represents a theoretical challenge since this energy range involves transition arrays from n equal 3 to 3 with an approximately half-open 3d subshell and possibly other open spectator subshells which contain a huge number of lines. The aim of this paper is to describe an experiment recently performed on the LULI 2000 laser facility mostly devoted to measurements of the absorption in the 60-180 eV spectral region in a copper plasma at a temperature of 10 to 30 eV and a density of few mg/cm$^3$. The experimental scheme is based on an indirect heating of multilayer thin foils by two gold cavities irradiated by two nanosecond doubled-frequency beams with an energy of several hundreds of J. This scheme allows one to obtain moderate temperature-and density-gradients and ensures conditions close to local thermodynamic equilibrium. The self-emission of cavities in XUV range is tentatively eliminated by the use of a time-dependent detection. A preliminary interpretation of these measurements is proposed. This analysis relies on three different codes: the hybrid code SCO-RCG, the Flexible Atomic Code in detailed or configuration-average mode, and the HULLAC code in level or configuration mode. A partial agreement is obtained between theory and experiment, though the account for temperature gradients is probably necessary to accurately describe the present measurements. (10.1016/j.hedp.2019.100706)
  DOI : 10.1016/j.hedp.2019.100706
• Laser-produced magnetic-Rayleigh-Taylor unstable plasma slabs in a 20 T magnetic field
  
  • Khiar B.
  • Revet G.
  • Ciardi A.
  • Burdonov K.
  • Filippov E.
  • Béard Jérome
  • Cerchez M.
  • Chen S. N.
  • Gangolf T.
  • Makarov S. S.
  • Ouillé M.
  • Safronova M.
  • Skobelev I. yu.
  • Soloviev A.
  • Starodubtsev M.
  • Willi O.
  • Pikuz S.
  • Fuchs J.
  Physical Review Letters, American Physical Society, 2019, 123 (20), pp.205001. Magnetized laser-produced plasmas are central to many novel laboratory astrophysics and inertial confinement fusion studies, as well as in industrial applications. Here we provide the first complete description of the three-dimensional dynamics of a laser-driven plasma plume expanding in a 20 T transverse magnetic field. The plasma is collimated by the magnetic field into a slender, rapidly elongating slab, whose plasma-vacuum interface is unstable to the growth of the “classical,” fluidlike magnetized Rayleigh-Taylor instability. (10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.205001)
  DOI : 10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.205001
• Plasma optics in the context of high intensity lasers
  
  • Peng H.
  • Marquès J.-R.
  • Lancia L.
  • Amiranoff François
  • Berger R.
  • Weber Sébastien J.
  • Riconda C.
  Matter and Radiation at Extremes, AIP Publishing, 2019, 4 (6), pp.065401. (10.1063/1.5091550)
  DOI : 10.1063/1.5091550
• X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy study of warm dense MgO
  
  • Bolis R.
  • Hernandez J.-A.
  • Recoules V.
  • Guarguaglini M.
  • Dorchies F.
  • Jourdain N.
  • Ravasio A.
  • Vinci T.
  • Brambrink E.
  • Ozaki N.
  • Bouchet J.
  • Remus F.
  • Musella R.
  • Mazevet S.
  • Hartley N.
  • Guyot F.
  • Benuzzi-Mounaix A.
  Physics of Plasmas, American Institute of Physics, 2019, 26 (11), pp.112703. We report time-resolved X-ray Absorption Near Edge Spectroscopy (XANES) measurements of warm dense MgO. We used a high power nanosecond pulse to drive a strong uniform shock wave into an MgO sample, and a picosecond pulse to generate a broadband X-ray source near the Mg K-edge. We used this setup to obtain XANES spectra across a large area of the phase diagram, with densities up to 6.8 g/cc and temperatures up to 30 000 K, conditions at which no prior investigations of electronic and ionic structure exist. Our XANES results, together with quantum molecular dynamic simulations, demonstrate that the sample metallizes due to the bandgap closure as it melts, after which it shows typical behavior for a disordered ionic liquid. Published under license by AIP Publishing. https://doi. (10.1063/1.5105390)
  DOI : 10.1063/1.5105390
• Optimisation of a Petawatt class compressor alignement based on a spectrally resolved wave front senso analysis
  
  • Ranc L.
  • Leblanc Catherine
  • Zou J.P.
  • Levecq X.
  • Druon Frédéric
  • Papadopoulos Dimitrios
  , 2019.
• Irradiation and dosimetry arrangement for a radiobiological experiment employing laser-accelerated protons
  
  • Polin K.
  • Doria D.
  • Romagnani L.
  • Chaudhary P.
  • Cirrone G.A.P.
  • Maiorino C.
  • Milluzzo G.
  • Petringa G.
  • Romano F.
  • Schettino G.
  • Scuderi V.
  • Prise K.
  • Borghesi M.
  Journal of Instrumentation, IOP Publishing, 2019, 14 (10), pp.C10015-C10015. (10.1088/1748-0221/14/10/C10015)
  DOI : 10.1088/1748-0221/14/10/C10015
• Kerr Shutter for the Generation of Optically Synchronized Pump-Signal OPCPA Pairs
  
  • Alexandridi C.
  • Lemaitre F.
  • Delen Xavier
  • Druon Frédéric
  • Georges Patrick
  • Papadopoulos Dimitrios
  , 2019.
• Radiative cooling of an Al plasma in an AlTi mixture heated by an ultraintense laser pulse
  
  • Renaudin P.
  • Duthoit L
  • Baton S.
  • Blancard Ch
  • Chaleil A.
  • Cossé P
  • Faussurier G
  • Gremillet L.
  • Lecherbourg L.
  • Loupias B.
  • Perez F.
  High Energy Density Physics, Elsevier, 2020. The rapid heating and cooling dynamics of thin solid foils driven by an ultraintense (∼ 10 18 Wcm −2) picosecond laser pulse has been experimentally studied through time-integrated and time-resolved x-ray emission spectroscopy as well as 2D x-ray imaging. Targets consisted of plastic foils with buried Al or Al 42 Ti 58 layers, with Al as a tracer to infer the plasma conditions. Our measurements indicate that the Al K-shell emission occurs over a shorter duration and from a narrower region in AlTi mixtures compared to pure Al samples. The experimental data are consistent with a simple model describing the fast heating and expansion of the foil target, and pinpoint the importance of radiative cooling in high-Z samples.
• Summary of WG2: Ion beams from plasmas
  
  • Lancia L.
  • Margarone D.
  , 2020, 1596 (1), pp.012012. Working Group 2 was dedicated to presentations on ion acceleration by laser-plasma interaction. This summary reports some highlights on different topics, grouping the presentations in four different areas of interest for the community: (i) ion acceleration facilities, (ii) target engineering and manipulation, (iii) laser-plasma interaction and diagnostics, and (iv) ion acceleration mechanisms. (10.1088/1742-6596/1596/1/012012)
  DOI : 10.1088/1742-6596/1596/1/012012
• Dosimetry of laser-accelerated carbon ions for cell irradiation at ultra-high dose rate
  
  • Milluzzo G.
  • Ahmed H.
  • Romagnani L.
  • Doria D.
  • Chaudhary P.
  • Maiorino C.
  • Mcilvenny A.
  • Mcmurray A.
  • Polin K.
  • Katzir Y.
  • Pattathil R.
  • Mckenna P.
  • Prise K.
  • Borghesi M.
  , 2020, 1596 (1), pp.012038. Charged particle radiotherapy is currently used in an increasing number of centres worldwide. While protons are the most widely used ion species, carbon ions have shown many advantages for the treatment of radioresistant tumours, thanks to their higher Linear Energy Transfer (LET) and Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE). The complexity and the high cost of conventional carbon therapy facilities has stimulated the investigation of alternative acceleration approaches such as the processes based on high-power laser interaction with solid targets. Recent developments in ion acceleration have allowed to investigate for the first time the biological effects of carbon ions at ultra-high dose-rate (109-1010 Gy/s) using the GEMINI laser system at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL). Carbon ions were accelerated from ultrathin (10-20 nm) carbon foils and energy selected by a magnet allowing to irradiate the cells with an average carbon energy of 10 MeV/u ± 8%. A dosimetry approach specifically designed for these low-energy ions was employed, which was based on the use of unlaminated EBT3 Radiochromic films. The details of the dosimetry arrangement as well as the Geant4 simulation performed to predict the energy and the dose distribution at the cell plane will be reported. (10.1088/1742-6596/1596/1/012038)
  DOI : 10.1088/1742-6596/1596/1/012038
• Momentum absorption and magnetic field generation by obliquely incident light
  
  • Macchi Andrea
  • Grassi Anna
  • Amiranoff François
  • Riconda Caterina
  The European Physical Journal Plus, Springer, 2019, 134 (9). (10.1140/epjp/i2019-12802-0)
  DOI : 10.1140/epjp/i2019-12802-0
• Extreme brightness laser-based neutron pulses as a pathway for investigating nucleosynthesis in the laboratory
  
  • Chen S.
  • Negoita F.
  • Spohr K.
  • D’humières E.
  • Pomerantz I.
  • Fuchs J.
  Matter and Radiation at Extremes, AIP Publishing, 2019, 4 (5), pp.054402. (10.1063/1.5081666)
  DOI : 10.1063/1.5081666
• Petawatt and exawatt class lasers worldwide
  
  • Danson Colin
  • Haefner Constantin
  • Bromage Jake
  • Butcher Thomas
  • Chanteloup Jean-Christophe
  • Chowdhury Enam
  • Galvanauskas Almantas
  • Gizzi Leonida
  • Hein Joachim
  • Hillier David
  • Hopps Nicholas
  • Kato Yoshiaki
  • Khazanov Efim
  • Kodama Ryosuke
  • Korn Georg
  • Li Ruxin
  • Li Yutong
  • Limpert Jens
  • Ma Jingui
  • Nam Chang Hee
  • Neely David
  • Papadopoulos Dimitrios
  • Penman Rory
  • Qian Liejia
  • Rocca Jorge
  • Shaykin Andrey
  • Siders Craig
  • Spindloe Christopher
  • Szatmári Sándor
  • Trines Raoul
  • Zhu Jianqiang
  • Zhu Ping
  • Zuegel Jonathan
  High Power Laser Science and Engineering, Cambridge University Press, 2019, 7. In the 2015 review paper 'Petawatt Class Lasers Worldwide' a comprehensive overview of the current status of highpower facilities of >200 TW was presented. This was largely based on facility specifications, with some description of their uses, for instance in fundamental ultra-high-intensity interactions, secondary source generation, and inertial confinement fusion (ICF). With the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics being awarded to Professors Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou for the development of the technique of chirped pulse amplification (CPA), which made these lasers possible, we celebrate by providing a comprehensive update of the current status of ultra-high-power lasers and demonstrate how the technology has developed. We are now in the era of multi-petawatt facilities coming online, with 100 PW lasers being proposed and even under construction. In addition to this there is a pull towards development of industrial and multidisciplinary applications, which demands much higher repetition rates, delivering high-average powers with higher efficiencies and the use of alternative wavelengths: mid-IR facilities. So apart from a comprehensive update of the current global status, we want to look at what technologies are to be deployed to get to these new regimes, and some of the critical issues facing their development. (10.1017/hpl.2019.36)
  DOI : 10.1017/hpl.2019.36
• APOLLON: a multi-PW laser facility
  
  • Jacquemot Sylvie
  • Zeitoun Philippe
  , 2019, 11111, pp.18. APOLLON laser facility was initiated by Nobel Laureat Gérard Mourou to become one of the few European 10 PW laser facilities. End of 2018, APOLLON reached 1 PW peak power. Experiments at this power are under preparation with an expected start during spring 2019 or early summer. In parallel, today the laser is under upgrade for reaching 10 PW in few years with an intermediate step at around 5 PW dedicated to the development of experiments at this high power. APOLLON will be open for external users on 2020 at 1 PW and very likely on 2021 at several PW. APOLLON has two experimental areas on which X-ray sources will be developed. The so-called "Long focal length area" (LFA) is dedicated to electron acceleration and related X-ray emission. The room may accommodate focal length up to 9m. The experiments are designed in a way to allows single or double stage electron acceleration with expected electron energies reaching several 10's of GeV. X-ray emission from betatron will be used as a diagnostic of electron acceleration processes but will be also developed independently aiming at achieving energetic and well-collimated X-ray beam. The experiment has been set in a way to allows heads-on electron-laser collision for Compton scattering experiments. The second target area called "Short Focal area", aims at achieving intensities as high as possible for electron and ion acceleration, non-linear QED tests and X-ray generation through high harmonic generation on solid. X-ray emission ranging up to 10 keV is foreseen, with very high peak power at lower energy. (10.1117/12.2531949)
  DOI : 10.1117/12.2531949
• Rayleigh-Taylor instability experiments on the LULI2000 laser in scaled conditions for young supernova remnants
  
  • Rigon G.
  • Casner A.
  • Albertazzi Bruno
  • Michel Th
  • Mabey P.
  • Falize E.
  • Ballet J.
  • van Box Som L.
  • Pikuz S.
  • Sakawa Y.
  • Sano T.
  • Faenov A.
  • Pikuz T.
  • Ozaki N.
  • Kuramitsu Y.
  • Valdivia M. P
  • Tzeferacos P.
  • Lamb D.
  • Koenig M.
  • Michel Th.
  Physical Review E, American Physical Society (APS), 2019, 100 (2), pp.021201. We describe a platform developed on the LULI2000 laser facility to investigate the evolution of Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) in scaled conditions relevant to young Supernovae Remnant (SNR) up to 200 years. An RT unstable interface is imaged with a short-pulse laser-driven (PICO2000) x-ray source, providing an unprecedented simultaneous high spatial (24 µm) and temporal (10 ps) resolution. This experiment provides relevant data to compare with astrophysical codes, as observational data on the development of RTI at the early stage of the SNR expansion are missing. A comparison is also performed with FLASH radiative magneto-hydrodynamic simulations. (10.1103/PhysRevE.100.021201)
  DOI : 10.1103/PhysRevE.100.021201
• The response function of Fujifilm BAS-TR imaging plates to laser-accelerated titanium ions
  
  • Strehlow J.
  • Forestier-Colleoni P.
  • Mcguffey C.
  • Bailly-Grandvaux M.
  • Daykin T.
  • Mccary E.
  • Peebles J.
  • Revet G.
  • Zhang S.
  • Ditmire T.
  • Donovan M.
  • Dyer G.
  • Fuchs J.
  • Gaul E.
  • Higginson D. P
  • Kemp G.
  • Martínez M.
  • Mclean H. S
  • Spinks M.
  • Sawada H.
  • Beg F. N
  Review of Scientific Instruments, American Institute of Physics, 2019, 90 (8), pp.083302. (10.1063/1.5109783)
  DOI : 10.1063/1.5109783